Pernod Ricard is taking more media buying in-house, according to Digiday. The brand has a small team of media buyers buying inventory directly from demand-side platforms such as Adobe Advertising Cloud (formerly TubeMogul) and Google’s DoubleClick Bid Manager. A quarter of Pernod Ricard’s digital media is bought by its own media buyers rather than its agencies. Pernod Ricard’s own burgeoning media expertise is meant to give it a better understanding of its investments, while simultaneously easing the eroding margins of its agencies. Like it has done with its in-house content-production team, Pernod Ricard takes on more of the day-to-day costs of managing its media investments such as adapting content for different channels and localizing assets, while its’ agencies are tasked with the strategy and creative responsibilities.

Wavemaker

WPP new media agency, formed by the in-house merger of existing shops MEC and Maxus, has been dubbed Wavemaker. The merger was announced back in June. With US$38 billion in billings, the resulting entity is being positioned as a “media, content and technology agency.” The merged agency network comprises 8,500 people serving clients in 90 countries via 139 offices around the world. According to the agency, the staff includes a mix of digital, data, content and platform/technology experts. Major global clients include L’Oréal, Vodafone, Marriott, Colgate-Palmolive and Paramount. Tim Castree will be the global CEO of MEC and Wavemaker Publicis Media veteran Amanda Richman would be joining in October as CEO of Wavemaker’s U.S. operations. The full rollout is expected to be completed by January 2018.

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NESCAFÉ Clásico

Casanova McCann created a new campaign for NESCAFÉ Clásico with Latin superstar Ricky Martin, which is the fourth consecutive year of this creative partnership. Produced by Letca Films and directed by Jorge Colon, the campaign includes TV, radio, OLVs, in-store and digital media. The campaign was shot in Mexico in between Ricky Martin’s latest concert tour dates. The campaign will launch in the U.S. later this year.

Barclays

Barclays, a financial services company, has moved its global media account to Omnicom Group following a review that began earlier this year, according to sources.WPP’s Maxus, now in the process of merging with sibling agency MEC into a new entity called Wavemaker, was the incumbent.Barclays spends around US$80 million on measured media annually according to Campaign.

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Customers can protect their personal data and monetize it, entering into a one-on-one relationship with brands through a technology called "smart contracts". Smart contracts allow users to enter into data sharing agreements with brands that are “securely stored on the block chain along with the detailed terms and conditions,”